Carroll - Nellie Rebecca (Carroll) Thornton (1871-1958)

Nellie is remembered with love and gratitude by generations of Southwest Harbor and Mount Desert Island residents, genealogists and historians from here and "from away" for her 1938 book, popularly known as, "Traditions and Records of Southwest Harbor," a complete and detailed record of the history of the people and places in the town of her birth. Besides writing the definitive history of Southwest Harbor and its inhabitants she was wrote the social notes for the town that appeared in the Bar Harbor Times for many years and was an active library volunteer. She was also an enthusiastic photographer who documented the activities of her large family. She made photograph albums for many family members, many of whom have shared her photographs with the Southwest Harbor Public Library. Archivists credit all of the photographs in her albums to her as she took or planned most of them. Those not taken by her were photographed by unnamed family members.